The Monitor., 1887-09-02
AN APPLE wOMAN's STORY.

Thim's three cints apiece, sur, two fur
the bar'l, an as sound as ever growed.
Thank ye, sir. Am I doing good bust
ness? In gineral, | do-there be hapes of
folks comes to these offices, an they buys
liberal, but to-day it's dirty and sloppy, an
they're all in hurry. It's good stand
have, amy way, God be praised! an, av
| wor taken sick | have enough in the
bank to nurse an to bury me daycent,
without AKIN charity. An my good luck
all KEN suddin.
1t must be an interestin' story? Well.
dunno; but don't mind telln' av you care
to listen. You see, Mickey McAvoy an l
had been married six years an we had but
one by, but he was fine one and we were
doin' well. Mickey was sober an industri-
Gus, an ambitious of ownin farm out in the
west, where they do be givin' 'em away,
av you've the names to stock thin an git
to thim-for he'd been brought up on a big
farm on the ovid sod beyant. But it
wasn't to be.
The by he TUX sick wan day wild the dip
thery, an in spite of all the doctor could
do-sorra the little they kin do whin yer
times come-he died. The heart was
bruk O. me, but Mickey TUX it harder an
that's sayin' dale, seein' that l was the
b'y's mother. The day after the funeral
Mickey had to go to work or lose job,
an, whether it was wild the sorrow or what,
poor Mickey's fut slipped on the ladder,
an him nigh to the top, an they
brought him home dead.
We'd saved somethin' bethune us-he
wild the hod and wild the washin'-but
what wild the funeral-an' illigant it was,
twelve carriages an cashkit, to say moth
in oflashin's of the best at the wake-I had
but tin dollars an some cnts left, an cast
around to do somethin' to kape the life in
me, for was too worn out for the washin'.
So got basket an I filed it with apples
an paynuts an wint roun' to the offices to
sell 'em. An l did well, too. The
young clarks'd buy the apples some
times an the janitors an office
b'ys the paynuts, an | made out to pay
the rint of my room an to get the bite an
the sup.
Wan day whin I KEN home Mrs Finner-
ty, who lived on the flare below an whose
husband is brick mason, sez to me, sez
she: "Did you hear that noise las night,
O groann' in the room back O. ye ?' 81
didn't sez /, cav it was in tho night, for
l slape sound.n "Well,' she sez, Sits
the gerri that runs the scwin' machine,
she sez, ''an' she's sick an I've
been there to-day, an will ye help
little tonight 9'' she sez, for I've the baby
to mind" 'I will, i" sez l, an did. The
gerril's name was Cherry Bashford, an
dacent she was, for lone dissholute Or
phan, an kept herself alone an meddled an
made wild no wan. The doctor KEN, an
she soon got well O. the cold an the faver,
an she an got quite friendly, though she
was lady bred, poor as she was, any one
could see that, an as for beauty, the ladies
ye see in them carriages on the strates
ways called me Mrs. McAvoy. 1t was never
"Biddy" wild her. sir, which is not the way
to spake to wildly wild good character.
We got quite frien'ly, as | said, an wan
day l said to her, sez l, Miss Bashford,
you do be lonely up there in your room, "
sez, SAN what'd all We about movin' your
machine into my room-there's dure be-
thune u.s. an yed be company" sez l.
"But," sez she, though IN much obliged
to ye, WON'T but we'll kape the dure open
in daytime, an I'll kape an eye on your
room whin yer away" So trien'lY did we
git, an she born lady, as l said before.
Wan day KEN to this very buildin' wild
my basket, an in I goes to wan Office an
another, an in to Mr. Gaskell's, him as
owns the buildin' l was known by the
clarks, who always bought from me, an
Master George, the masters only son,
though he was sort of head clark, would
buy like the rest, and he had a great habit
of jokin' with me. But that day the ovid
gentlemin happened to hear him in his
ONCE, all ue keil Out III hiSh lclipci oil
sez he to me, "You kape out o. here wild
your basket, for you daymoralize the clerks
from their business" Gas you PLACE, sir,
sez l, bowld enough, though it was two
dollars week out o. my pocket, an out |
wint Master George, he was angry, an
gev me quarter, an said he'd buy of me
whin he had a chance. And | was so fur
ried wild the cantakerous ovid gintlemin-
but it's a good man he is, for all that-that
| dropped cross that | keep about me for
luck-it KEN from Rome an was blessed
by the holy father 'himself, an l niver
missed it till l got home
l had just got off the dishes from the
table, an was clearin' up from my bit of
tav, an Miss Bashford, who had come in
from her room, was talkin' wild me, whin
ther was rap at the dure, an whin said
s'Come in" who should march into the
room but George, as bowld as brass, wild
my cross. "You dropped this in the of
fice." he sez, IAN as knew where we lived
l thought I'd bring it to ye, an" wild
that he stared like stuck pig at Miss
Bashford an, we may behave me, whin |
looked at her she was as white as the wall.